Kyle Busch earns third Coca-Cola 600 pole; Harvick to start in back

Kyle Busch earns third Coca-Cola 600 pole; Harvick to start in back

Kyle Busch ran his fastest lap of the day Thursday when it mattered most.

As such, the 191.836mph lap he set in the final round puts Busch on the pole in the Coca-Cola 600, his third of the season. It will be the third time Busch starts from the top spot at Charlotte Motor Speedway; however, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is still seeking his first points-paying win in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at the speedway.

“We certainly did [save the best for last],” said Busch. “The M&M’s Camry was fast, it felt pretty good. The guys did an amazing job in practice — we weren’t very good in practice and Adam [Stevens, crew chief] and the boys went to work. Fortunately, today I had extra track time, so I’ve got my Xfinity [Series] ride to thank probably for a little bit for that today.”

“Just feels good,” Busch said of his run. “This is a race that you always enjoy coming to. I haven’t won here in a points-paying event, so it would certainly be nice to get that done here this weekend with the 600.”

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Joey Logano will join Busch on the front row after also running his fastest lap. Logano clocked in at 191.218mph and ruined what looked to be a JGR 1-2-3 party. Denny Hamlin (191.049 mph) will start third and Erik Jones (190.894 mph) will start fourth.

Brad Keselowski (190.557mph) completed the top five.

The rest of the top 10 were Ryan Newman (190.201mph), Jamie McMurray, who had been fastest in the first round (189.940mph), Ryan Blaney (189.893mph), Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez, who ran identical laps of 189.707 mph.

Two drivers, JJ Yeley and Kevin Harvick, did not make it on track to attempt a qualifying lap due to inspection issues and will start at the rear of the field on Sunday afternoon.

Harvick’s car also failed pre-qualifying inspection and as a result car chief Robert Smith has been ejected for the remainder of the weekend. Additionally, Harvick will also have to serve a 30-minute practice hold on Saturday.

Kelly Crandall

Kelly has been on the NASCAR beat full-time since 2013, and joined RACER as chief NASCAR writer in 2017. Her work has also appeared in NASCAR.com, the NASCAR Illustrated magazine, and NBC Sports. A corporate communications graduate from Central Penn College, Crandall is a two-time George Cunningham Writer of the Year recipient from the National Motorsports Press Association.